getting back to morocco...

as promised, here's a little tidbit of my trip to marrakech i took mid-february. i could bore you with every little event that passed, but instead, i'll include some excerpts from the journal i not-so-religiously kept, which also happens to read more like a to-do list than an account of the events and experiences that passed. i'll post some photos too.


moto.




our riad.


saadien tombs.

...derek and i wandered through a spanish/moorish archway, onto sidi mimoun, hoping we were even on the right street. we successfully found the hospital (where we were told to first locate in order to find our accommodations) at the dead-end, all the while a small boy following us, asking if we're looking for our riad. we politely told him "no" and ignored him, just the the guidebooks said, and then a man, about our age, also asked if we were looking for riad el az, making sure to mention my name & instructing us to follow the munchkin. of course the kid was angry at me when i only handed him 5dh, but what did he expect, that little punk?...


the souks.

...we strolled towards "la place" djamaa el fna, where we encountered snake charmers, fortune tellsers, monkeys, henna artists, musicians... back to the place, which had transformed into restaurants (this transformation takes place every evening), serving up couscous and tagines (we ate both at #1, complimented with fresh olives & aubergines), lamb's heads, snails, puddings, fried fish, sausages & brochettes (meat-on-a-stick), soups to be slurped with long ladles, dried fruits & nuts, and one of our personal favorites, the egg sandwiches...


place djamaa el fna.


the calligrapher.

...ran into a calligrapher who carefully explained to us the art and process and who scrolled our names, with loads of enthusiasm, a big smile and twinkles in his eyes... was lured in by a spice vendor, pushing his potions & powders, first crushing things & lighting them on fire so we could get a whiff. while we were led inside the little shop, the smooth-talker opened jars, pushed them into our faces so we could get the smells, then tea, rose-based pink paste on our hands, amber and eucalyptus and musk. ha gave us some "free gifts" and i ended up buying 50g (quite the bag-full) of loose tea, making it worth his trouble.

...went hiking in the atlas mountains with our trusty guide, jamal. getting there in itself, was an adventure. found the taxi stand & then clung on for our lives on the way to amizmiz, gradually making the ascent into the foothills. must've seen over 100 species of plants during the hike, and the views of the snowcapped summits were incredible. snacked on bread (which we watched being made in a clay oven), fresh-pressed olive oil, almonds from the trees across the way, and "attaye", moroccain green tea. every pass gave way to more spectacular views & more things to discover. lunch with our berber family was fantastic. tagine of tomatoes & potatoes, beef & spices, all sopped up by fresh bread & washed down with more tea. the tea pouring ritual itself was a sight to see. met his beautiful grandchildren, a shy little guy, about the age of two, and his curious five-year-old sister, who kept peeking around the corner at her strange visitors. jamal answered every question, showed us things you might not notice otherwise, and was amazingly patient with the photo-clicking of our tourist-selves. came back to the riad, and popped open a bottle of moroccain red on the terrace, and relaxed a bit before going to sleep.


lunch with our berber family.

well, i could go on, but considering this has taken me over two weeks to put together just this bit, i'm going to just let it go (and maybe add more later if i have time, who knows...). enough for now.


wine on the terrace.


sniffing a whiff of mint to cover up the stench at the tanneries.